Brady Steiger blasted a two-run homer over the right-field fence with no outs in the bottom of the first inning Saturday night and followed it up with a long RBI double in the third on the way to three-hit, four-RBI game.

The Port Orchard, Wash., designated hitter connected with southpaw Oscar Armenta's 3-and-2 fastball and gave it a ride deep into the St. George twilight.

It was a moment welcomed by the homer-starved Staten Island Yankees, who had but one longball through their first eight games heading into a 10-6 victory over the Hudson Valley Renegades.

It was a season-high for both hits (13) and runs for the Baby Bombers.

In fact, first baseman Bubba Jones' two-run shot over the right-centerfield fence on Thursday night — Game 7 of the 76-game New York-Penn League season — was the lone homer until Steiger's jolt helped boost the Yanks' record to 5-4.

Through the first eight days, only 48 home runs had been hit throughout the 14-team league. State College (Pa.) led the way with 11, while Vermont, Auburn and Connecticut were all tied with Staten Island with just one apiece.

While young pros are still learning how to hit for average, the need for power is apparent.

"At the end of the day, for a lot off these guys, that's how they're going to get to the big leagues," said Staten Island manager Mario Garza. "It's hard for a first baseman or corner outfielder, sometimes even a third baseman, to advance to the big leagues if they don't show some power numbers."

So while they're being taught how to be disciplined hitters capable of using all fields, the players all know of the sabermetric importance of OPS (on-base plus slugging percentage) when front-office folks convene.

"I think OPS is a stat that's very important, and it's hard to OPS a high number without driving the ball," said Garza. "That's kind of the main focus, especially early in the count, looking for something that you can drive for a home run or double.

"A lot of it comes with strike-zone discipline. If you're constantly chasing and getting yourself in a pitcher's count, getting behind in the count, it's going to be hard to OPS. When you get the pitch you're looking for, you should be able to do some damage."

Jones, 21, know what it feels like to hit the ball over the fence.

He hit a ton of them back in the Seattle, Wash., suburb of Edmonds, Wash. That's the primary reason that the New York Yankees took him in the seventh round of the 2011 draft.

"There's nothing like it," said Jones after batting practice. "Sometimes you know you've hit it and everything's slow motion. It's the best feeling ever."

He also knows that his career will ultimately depend on his ability to hit for power.

"As a first baseman, you need to hit home runs," said Jones. "You don't want to think about it too much because you don't want to mess with your mental game, but it's definitely in the back of your mind.

"I guess I'm more of a doubles hitter now, but power will come. I just have to be patient."

Garza, who led the New-York Penn League with 15 home runs while playing for Tri-City a decade ago, said coaching in the minors requires an abundance of patience.

"What do they say? It takes 1,500 or so plate appearances for us to really know what a guy's going to be like," he said. "That's why we're here. It's great when guys get base-hits , but if it's a 2-0 count we want them to learn to drive the ball ... hit the ball in the gap, hit a home run."

NOTES: In a scene right out of the movie "Bull Durham," the infield sprinklers went on just as Staten Island starter Jordan Cote was reading to make his first pitch of the game. The start was delayed a few minutes while someone hit the right switch ... The Yankees enjoyed a solid offensive game after starting the night with a league-low .180 batting average ... Ty McFarland had two hits and three RBI and lead-off batter Devyn Bolasky added two hits and three runs ... Staten Island returns home Wednesday night to face Hudson Valley and hosts Brooklyn next Saturday night.